Blink Of An Eye
by catsaretriangles
Summary: Seiya x Yaten slash oneshot/Based off of the real life missile threat in Hawaii/It's funny the things you realize when you're about to die, like how you've been in love with someone your whole life and never realized it until those last moments when its too late.


**Authors note: *THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE A POLITCAL ONESHOT SO PLEASE DON'T BRING POLITCS INTO IT.* I'm sure many of you heard about the missile threat in Hawaii a couple weeks back. I know it was confirmed as being just a false alarm but I couldn't help but think of all the families who probably thought they were going to die right then and there. It hurts my heart just thinking about it. But that got me thinking about how when you know you're going to die about the little things you realize in those moments. That inspired this story which is a bit of a romance/friendship partial tragedy oneshot which is dedicated to those who were in the midst of that terror and those who have experienced similar situations as well as for those where it hasn't been just a false alarm.**

/

It's funny how your world can change so drastically in just a matter of seconds. One minute you're happily doing whatever it is that you're doing whether it's doing laundry or skateboarding with your best friend and then the next thing you know your tv show is being interrupted by an emergency broadcast or its your phone that's lighting up with an urgent message telling you that there's a bomb headed towards your town and you need to pack up everything and hide and call your loved ones because this is it. It sounds like a tragedy, something so sad that you only heard about in movies but for those visiting or living in Hawaii that became their reality one day.

Yaten Kou, a famous pop idol known for his role in The Three Lights was one of those people visiting Hawaii at the time. What most people didn't know about The Three Lights was that they were actually sailor scouts from a planet called Kinmoku in another galaxy. They had fled to earth in search of their missing princess when an evil villain named Galaxia destroyed their planet so they were left to disguise themselves as males and spread their message to their princess in the form of songs that would be played on radio stations all around the world.

However it wasn't easy for them being famous idols, there was a lot of stress from being hounded constantly by their hormonal teenage fangirls as well as the emotional trauma that followed them around everyday from losing their princess and watching their planet be destroyed before their very eyes.

Of the three of them Yaten had the hardest time coping with everything going on. Seiya, his leader, had distracted himself by falling in love with a ditzy earth girl who he knew didn't reciprocate his feelings at all but yet he still spent all his time with her meaning he hardly spent any time with his teammates anymore. The other member of The Three Lights, Taiki, wasn't a very emotional type and had a tendency to keep his feelings bottled up inside of him and normally he would pour them into his work or his music but on the rare occasion when he was pushed to his limits he would blow up and everything would come pouring out.

For the silver haired boy however things were different. Yaten had been born with the special gift of empathy where he could sense other's emotions around him. However it was also a curse. Not only could he feel people's emotions but he also felt it when someone died. So when all the people of Kinmoku were killed, he felt them all dying at once. Every time someone on earth got their star seed ripped out of them, ending their life, he felt it. Plus he could feel the sadness and despair of his teammates and it killed him. Not only was he trying to deal with all the trauma and the guilt of not being able to protect his princess but he also had to deal with everyone else's emotions too.

So when an offer was made for Yaten to do a photoshoot overseas as part of a publicity stunt, he eagerly accepted, desperate to get a break from all the madness currently surrounding him. He knew that he was technically leaving his teammates alone to fight any monsters that appeared by themselves but they also had the solar senshi who kept making their way into every battle so he knew that they'd be fine. He didn't necessarily know why they asked him and not his teammates but he wasn't about to complain that he was getting a free vacation.

After saying his goodbyes to his teammates who wished him a happy trip and told him to call if he needed them, he was on the next flight out of Tokyo and headed to Hawaii where he would be living for a week.

As it turned out Hawaii wasn't exactly all it was cracked up to be. Yaten did have the luxury of staying in a fancy hotel in the middle of the city which was nice but he spent practically all his time inside his hotel room since an unknown source had told the media where he was staying and what room number meaning there were overflowing amounts of fans waiting outside his room and outside his hotel to see him.

He'd barely left his room at all since the couple of times he had tried to quietly exit he got hounded by teenage girls trying to grab a hold of him and screaming in his ear that they loved him and wanted to marry him. So at this point Yaten had managed to determine that his room was the safest option for him.

He got bored staying in his room all day as he wished that he could be laying on a lounger by the pool or touring Honolulu and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery around him. But instead his vacation was spent ordering room service since he couldn't leave to get any other food and watching reruns of old cartoons on TV.

Yaten couldn't wait for the photo shoot to come so he could just fly back to Tokyo where even if fans were constantly following him, at least he had some areas he could retreat to for solitude. At this point he thought his vacation couldn't possibly get any worse.

But it did.

He wasn't sure exactly what time it was when it happened but all he remembered was waking up to the sounds of yelling and the sound of people running in the hallways. He practically shot up in bed and that was when he noticed his cellphone lighting up on his bedside table.

He picked it up and noticed there was an alert on the screen.

 _'BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL'_

Yaten's hands started trembling and his vision became blurred as he froze in his spot unable to move. He was going to die and he wasn't going to be able to protect his princess from harm. He wasn't going to die nobly on behalf of his planet or his princess, he was going to die because of someone else's unjustified decision to ruin innocent lives.

The frantic screaming coming from the hallway shook him out of his trance and he quickly got out of bed and made a dash for the hallway, knowing he had to try and get to safety if he wanted any chance at survival. He was still in his pajamas but he didn't care, he just wanted to be safe.

He followed everyone to the basement of the hotel which was a dark cramped space that could barely hold all of them. He was surprised for once that he was out around hundreds of people and that nobody cared about going up to him to ask for his autograph or to profess their so called undying love for him. Everyone around him was sobbing and pulling their phones out as they frantically dialled the numbers of their loved ones as they told them that they were going to die and they would never be able to see each other ever again.

Yaten could feel all of the sadness and despair of everyone around him and it overwhelmed him so much that he felt his whole body go numb as tears began spilling down his cheeks like a waterfall.

Part of Yaten wanted to just henshin into Sailor Star Healer and take off back to Tokyo but he knew that that with a missile soaring through the sky that he'd probably just crash into it and die anyways. Besides what kind of person would he be if he just took off and left, leaving behind all these helpless people who didn't have superpowers to escape this mess? A coward, that would make him a selfish coward and if Yaten Kou was anything it was anything but a coward.

He looked at his phone in his hand and all of a sudden his mind went blank and he couldn't remember what his password was. He wanted to scream and curse as he stared at it blankly knowing that he didn't have long to call his teammates and tell them how much they meant to him.

In Tokyo it was already 3 AM which was an hour that most people would normally be asleep at but for the remaining two lights they were just getting back to their apartment from a gig at a local nightclub that had asked them to play a couple songs for them as a duet.

Seiya stumbled tiredly towards their couch before plopping himself down while his taller friend went into the kitchen to fetch them a snack since they were both starving. "Great performance tonight." Seiya called out as he grabbed the remote, turning on the TV before beginning to randomly flip through the channels.

He heard footsteps approaching as Taiki sat down beside him offering him a bag of chips he'd found at the back of their cupboard. "I'd say we did a pretty good job tonight." he replied as his friend continued changing the channels at rapid speed.

"I'm exhausted though." the raven haired light yawned as his teammate snatched the remote from his hand.

He was about to change the channel when all of a sudden what ever show had been on the screen was interrupted by what appeared to be a news broadcast. Both of the men looked at each other in confusion before focusing their attention back to the screen.

A news anchor was seated there and the words 'Emergency Alert" were written at the bottom of the screen. "This just in, we have received word that residents of Hawaii were all warned just a few minutes ago of an incoming missile headed their way. We have no idea whether or not this claim is true or not but for those of you who have family or friends over in Hawaii, now is the time to call them and tell them you love them before its too late." he said, before reciting more lines from his script but neither Seiya or Taiki heard what he was saying as the leader of the starlights had jumped up from his seat and was frantically dialling Yaten's number as Taiki tried to calm him down.

Back over in Honolulu, Yaten was still hiding in the basement of the hotel with all of the other people staying there. His gaze was still locked on his phone trying to remember his password when all of a sudden his screen lit up with the phone number of their apartment back in Tokyo. A half mournful half happy smile crossed his face as he immediately answered the call, bringing the phone up to his ear so he could hear.

"Yaten?" Seiya yelled, obviously crying from the way his voice hitched when he said his name.

"It's me." he responded, clutching the phone even tighter as tears trickled down his cheeks. "I'm here."

Taiki was still rubbing his leader's back as said starlight clutched tightly onto the kitchen counter for support to keep himself from collapsing on the floor. "I'm so glad you're ok." he cried as his body began trembling. "I thought I might be too late..." he choked out before his sobs managed to overtake him and he fell to the floor.

The brunette gently removed the phone from his hand and brought it up to his own ear. "Hey Yaten." he whispered, trying to blink away the tears in his own eyes as he tried to hold himself together for the sake of his friends. "Stay strong for us ok? You're going to make it out alive."

Yaten managed to laugh a little bit as he tucked his head into his knees. "I hope so." he mumbled. "I'm not ready to die yet, we need to find Kakyuu."

"We'll find her for you Yaten, I promise."

"Make sure nobody hurts her ok? I don't want anything to happen to her." he said sorrowfully as he shut his eyes, imagining his beautiful princess standing before him once again with her hands outstretched. "And Taiki?"

"Yes, Yaten?"

The empath smiled with teary eyes. "Thank you for having always been such an amazing friend." he choked out.

Taiki's dam burst and the tears began streaming down his cheeks as he tried to force himself to speak. "You're welcome. You've been a great friend too, Yaten." he replied softly before quickly handing the phone back to Seiya.

The brunette rushed out of the room unable to handle everything anymore leaving Seiya alone with Yaten. "Hey. It's me again." he said quietly, tears still falling faster and faster but his sobs slowing down ever so slightly, as he brought the phone up to his ear, in case Yaten couldn't tell. "How are you doing?"

"Gee I'm wonderful. I'm sipping on my martini and hanging out at the coolest beach party of all time." he retorted sarcastically.

Even though Seiya was still crying he was still able to roll his eyes at his teammates sarcasm. "Even when death is near you're still your same old arrogant self." he said half jokingly.

The sound of Yaten chuckling reverberated through the phone and the raven haired boy couldn't help but laugh a little as he leaned back against the counter top.

Yaten leaned back against the wall, wiping his tears away as he sat there, forgetting momentarily about his impending death. "Ashiteru." he whispered before realizing what he had just said.

Apparently Seiya didn't fully realize what he said either, even though he heard the words it didn't register to him what was said. "I love you too." he responded absent mindedly.

It took both of them a moment before they realized what they had just said to one another. Seiya's eyes shot open as he pulled away from the counter. There was an awkward silence in the air before Yaten finally broke it.

"Gomen, I didn't realize what I was saying..."

"Yaten, it's ok. You don't need to-"

"Look just forget about it ok? I'm going to die anyways so what does it matter?" he asked softly, burying his head in his knees once again as he prepared himself to die at any given second.

"Yaten..."

"You have Usagi remember? Go and be there for her and love her with all of your heart." the older boy responded sadly as he was slowly taken over by his sobs once again.

Yaten honestly hadn't even really realized he cared about Seiya in that way before. Sure Seiya was fairly attractive but anyone with a working pair of eyes could see that. And yes the raven haired light had a huge heart and cared about everyone he met but Yaten had only ever seen him as a friend or at least that's what his mind had told him. For as long as he could remember they were partners and best friends and spent every second of the day together, he never even thought about the possibility of a relationship with him because they were always together already. But of course being on earth strained their friendship and they started spending less and less time together because they were always fighting. Although now that he thought about it, he realized that the majority of the fights started happening after Seiya met Usagi and most of the fights were about her too.

The dots were connecting in his head and all of a sudden he realized that there were feelings there that he'd just never allowed himself to think about, that he'd just pushed aside and tried to forget about and now that he was about to die everything was bubbling up to the surface and it was too late for anything to happen at this point.

This revelation made his heart hurt even more and the tears continued to spill down his cheeks as he wished for the missile to just hurry up and end his life already since he was already in agony waiting for his death to occur. He had almost forgotten that he was on the phone when he heard Seiyas voice speaking softly.

"Yaten...ashiteru." he whispered through tears, as he glanced up at the ceiling. "I guess I didn't realize it before now. I know its too late for us to be together but I'll always love you and I'll never forget about you, I promise. Even if I do fall in love again whether it be with Usagi or some other person, you'll always have a special place in my heart."

Yaten felt his heart swell at those words and a sad smile crossed his face as he gripped the phone even tighter, ready to accept his fate. "Seiya, I..."he began but was cut off by the sound of screaming all around him.

He dropped his phone and shot up to his feet, wondering if the missile was approaching and they were going to die or maybe it had already hit and he was dead and this was the beginning of the afterlife. He scanned the room and noticed everyone hugging one another and smiling. Confusion crossed his face and he bent down to pick up his phone when he noticed an alert at the top of the screen.

'There _is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False Alarm.'_

His sorrowful smile turned into a large genuine smile as he looked back up at the people around him. There were some who were cursing, others were still sobbing and shaking on the floor, there were some screaming some out of anger and some out of happiness, some excitedly talking on the phones with their loved ones to tell them they were alright and there were people running out of the little cramped room with tears streaming down the faces as they ran to find their family and see them again.

Yaten was so overwhelmed by all the different mixed emotions of the moment that he forgot Seiya was on the line. He realized he was probably panicking so he immediately brought his phone back up to his ear and was greeted by the sound of the raven haired boy screaming in his ear.

"Yaten! Yaten! Yaten! Are you there? Are you still alive?" he yelled as Taiki came running out of his room to check on him.

"Seiya, calm down." Yaten responded as he rubbed his forehead, still trying to process everything that had just happened.

"Are you alright? What happened? Are you hurt? Wha-"

"It was a false alarm."

"Nani?"

"There's no missile threat, it was a false alarm, I'm not going to die."

He heard the phone crash to the floor and could faintly hear Seiya screaming in the background as he probably attacked Taiki with a hug who was sure to give him a lecture on that afterwards. He laughed quietly to himself before he heard what sounded like the phone being picked up off the floor.

"Are you sure?" he heard the other boy ask hopefully.

"Hai, there's no missile."

"Me and Taiki are going to the airport and we're going to board the next flight to Hawaii." Seiya said before Yaten heard the sound of the line going dead.

He let out a sigh of relief as he followed everyone else out of the room, so many different emotions circling through him all at once, despair, disbelief, hope, happiness, anger, love.

He made it up to his hotel room and quickly changed out of his pajamas before leaving the hotel. For once he wasn't hounded by fangirls, everyone was busy with their family and loved ones, cherishing the moments with them that they thought they'd never get to have just short moments ago.

Back in Tokyo the remaining two lights exchanged a tight tearful hug at the news that their fellow teammate was safe before going to their rooms to pack their stuff so they had catch the next flight to Hawaii.

It was 4 AM when they reached the airport and they surprisingly managed to get a plane ticket to Honolulu although most of the flights had gotten booked up after the missile threat.

The flight there felt like an eternity and it didn't help matters that there just so happened to be a lot of people on the plane who wanted their autographs. But even though Seiya was exhausted and worried about Yaten, he still managed to find the energy to force a smile and sign some autographs.

He knew that most of these people flying out at that early of an hour were probably headed to see the people closest to them and the least he could do for them was sign a little picture for them to brighten their day a little bit.

/

Yaten had been waiting at the airport for a few hours now, constantly checking the list of flights coming in to see if any of the ones from Tokyo had been delayed or not. He kept replaying everything in his mind from earlier that day, the missile threat, the despair of everyone around him, Seiya telling him that he loved him.

That thought alone scared him half to death. In less then 12 hours he'd had his word completely turned upside down. He thought he was going to die and at the same time he realized he had feelings for one of his closest friends that he didn't even realize had been there before.

He felt extremely vulnerable at this point and he worried that Seiya had just said things in the heat of the moment and once they got back to Tokyo he'd ignore him again and chase after Usagi. He was ready to give him his whole heart and he didn't want to get crushed in return, he'd been through more then enough and didn't want to suffer anymore.

However he was shaken out of his thoughts when one of the flights coming in from Tokyo listed on the little TV screen above him changed to arriving now. His face lit up a little bit as he hoped it was them.

He walked over to the gates and watched closely to see if he could spot his raven haired leader. He spotted several people running towards the people waiting around him, tackling their family members or friends with hugs. The crowd of incoming passengers was beginning to die out and Yaten sighed as he debated about going back to the airport's coffee shop to get another coffee.

He turned around to make his way over to the little coffee shop when a voice caught his attention.

"Yaten!"

Just as he turned around he felt himself be tackled into a tight hug. He felt the air escape his lungs as the person squeezed even tighter. He could just barely make out the shape of the black ponytail bouncing behind the other person's back and he felt tears fill his eyes as he tightly wrapped his arms around him in return.

Seiya had his face buried in his shoulder and Yaten could feel his tears soaking his shirt. All he could do was rub his back gently as he squeezed him even tighter. "I'm here, I'm here." he whispered, not wanting to let go of him in case it might be the last time.

The raven haired male pulled away from him enough that even though he still had his arms were wrapped around him, they were now face to face staring into one another's eyes. "I'm so glad you're ok." he said, before planting a soft kiss on the top of the empath's head erasing any doubts that the other had.

They pulled apart and Yaten noticed Taiki approaching them but he didn't look at all shocked about the sight in front of him. "Taiki." Yaten said quietly, before the taller light hugged him.

Taiki rested his head on top of his and shut his eyes as he held him close. "I'm so glad you're ok."

After they pulled apart Yaten turned back to Seiya who was watching him intently. "Do you want to go back to Tokyo now?" he asked.

Yaten stared at him for a minute before he shook his head. "No, I want to stay here. I have a photo shoot to do. Besides I was thinking maybe we could do a free concert here." he suggested, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I mean all these people thought they were going to die and there's probably some of them who are fans of ours and they'd probably love to get to see us."

Seiya smiled at him and quickly glanced over at Taiki who just shrugged in response. The younger starlight turned back to Yaten and pulled him into another hug. "Whatever makes you happy shrimp." he whispered. "I'm just glad you're ok."


End file.
